Plastic open frame basket construction and method of making the same

ABSTRACT

A plastic open frame basket is made by molding from plastic material, a tapered body portion, having integrally interconnected smoothly contoured longitudinal rib members and cross members in an interconnected, open frame configuration. A plurality of raised diagonal parting lines extend between said outer and inner corners formed by adjacent cross members to define a stepped configuration, thereby enabling the resulting plastic molded open frame basket to be made from a relatively inexpensive mold apparatus.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an open frame plastic basket and amethod of making it. More particularly, it relates to a plastic baskethaving an open frame construction for receiving objects, such as golfballs, for use at a driving range where the game of golf may bepracticed.

BACKGROUND ART

Baskets of all sizes and shapes have been in existence for some time,because there has always been a need to transport or store items whichwere not readily transported or stored by hand. Examples of such objectinclude rice, grain, clothing, and many others. The earliest forms ofbaskets, as well as some present day ones, were made by interweavingmaterials derived from plants.

A modern example is a metal, open frame wire basket, used at drivingranges for transporting a quantity of golf balls.

Such baskets for the transportation and storage of golf balls, referredto as "range baskets," frequently found at golf driving ranges, havebeen manufactured from metal rods welded or otherwise suitably fixedtogether, to form a metal basket construction having a carrying handleor bail. Baskets so formed have been made of an open frame construction,wherein the interconnected metal rod elements have been spaced from oneanother to form gaps or openings. The openings are sufficiently small insize to confine the golf balls within the basket. However, they aresufficiently large in size to permit the user to readily perceive thegroup of golf balls stored within the basket.

While such metal wire baskets have been satisfactory for someapplications, they have been susceptible to being damaged by rust, sincethey are primarily used outdoors. In this regard, the baskets have beenexposed to rain, snow, and other weather conditions. As the baskets aremade of metal, the weather conditions tend to lead to the formation ofrust. Eventually, excessive oxidation can destroy or otherwise renderthe basket unsuitable for its intended purpose. The integrity of thebasket can deteriorate to the point where it becomes useless, and mustthen be replaced.

Another disadvantage of metal wire range baskets, is that should thewelds be defective, the wire joints can be dislodged. As a result, thebasket then looses the structural integrity, and breaks apart. Such abasket must then be replaced.

Additionally, the weight of the heavy metal baskets is a seriousdrawback. While a single basket is not especially heavy, when severalempty metal baskets are combined in a nested fashion, the overall weightbecomes increasingly burdensome. In this regard, the wire baskets aretapered so that the baskets fit one within the other.

Nesting of the baskets is desirable and important for golf ball drivingranges. In this regard, several baskets can be readily carried by handby only one person, thereby reducing the amount of time to transport theempty baskets. Also, nesting the baskets permits a larger number ofbaskets to be stored in a smaller area.

Another problem in the nesting of metal baskets relates to the wireelements, which become bent out of shape during use. Such bent portionsmake it more difficult to nest the baskets, because the heavy wireelements of nested baskets engage one another, and the bent portionstend to lock the nested baskets together. Thus, the baskets could not bereadily nested, and then later could not be easily separated.

An additional disadvantage of the conventional wire basket is that itincludes a rotatable handle, which is capable of falling into theinterior of the basket. When a handle falls into such a position, thenesting of the baskets was made to be impracticable, if not impossible.

If an open frame could somehow be entirely made from thermoplasticmaterial, it would be lightweight and rust resistant. If such a plasticbasket could be injection molded with a tapered body, such a basketcould be successfully used as a driving range golf ball basket.

In order to make a plastic basket with a tapered body and having an openframe construction, a multiple part mold would be required. Such a moldhaving many parts, would be unduly complex, and excessively expensive tomanufacture. Thus, the resulting parts would be excessively expensive.

Thus, it would be highly desirable to be able to injection mold such anopen frame basket, by a less expensive mold arrangement, such as a twopart mold. The resulting basket would have to have the desired tapered,open frame construction.

One approach could be to make the open frame basket with a steppedsidewall, so that the basket could be injection molded with only twomold parts. Such plastic basket would be a radical departure from therelatively smooth tapered sidewall of the metal wire baskets. Such asubstantially different appearance would be totally unacceptable to thedriving ranges.

Thus, it would be highly desirable to have a plastic open frame basketwhich can be constructed from a two part mold. Such a plastic basketshould have a smoothly tapered body and be relatively inexpensive tomanufacture.

Such a plastic open frame basket should not only be lightweight, but itmust also be structurally strong to withstand heavy use, which iscustomary at commercial driving ranges. In addition to being strong, thebasket must be durable and capable of withstanding repeated andsustained abuse.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

Therefore, the principal object of the present invention is to provide anew and improved plastic open frame basket, and a method ofmanufacturing it, having a smooth tapered body portion, withoutrequiring the use of unduly expensive molding techniques.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a new andimproved plastic open frame basket, and a method of manufacturing it,such that the basket is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, is lightin weight, and is strong and durable to withstand repeated heavy use,such as the use subjected to at a golf driving range.

Briefly, the above and further objects of the present invention arerealized by providing a plastic open frame basket, and a method ofmanufacturing it, such that the basket has a smooth tapered body and canbe produced relatively inexpensively. The basket is lightweight, strong,and durable.

A plastic open frame basket is made by molding from plastic material, atapered body portion, having integrally interconnected smoothlycontoured longitudinal rib members and cross members in aninterconnected, open frame configuration. A plurality of raised diagonalparting lines extend between said outer and inner corners formed byadjacent cross members to define a stepped configuration, therebyenabling the resulting plastic molded open frame basket to be made froma relatively inexpensive mold apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above mentioned and other objects and features of this invention andthe manner of attaining them will become apparent, and the inventionitself will be best understood by reference to the following descriptionof the embodiment of the invention in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of a plastic open frame basket construction,which is constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 1A is an enlarged fragmentary detail portion of the basketconstruction of FIG. 1, illustrating at least some of the parting linesand reinforcing webs of the basket construction;

FIG. 2 is top view of the basket construction of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the basket construction of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an elevational, slightly enlarged view of basket constructionof FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an elevational, partially broken away view of like plasticopen frame basket constructions nested together;

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of the basket construction of FIG. 2,taken substantially one line 6--6 thereof;

FIG. 7 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the basketconstruction of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the basket constructionof FIG. 6, illustrating the outside surface of a bail attachment areawith the bail removed for illustration purposes;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the basket constructionof FIG. 6, illustrating the bail cross hole of the bail attachment areaof FIG. 8 with the bail removed for illustration purposes;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the basket constructionof FIG. 8, illustrating the inside surface of the bail attachment ofFIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view of the basketconstruction of FIG. 6, taken on line 11--11 thereof;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary, top view of the basket construction of FIG. 4;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged, fragmentary detail elevational view of the bailattachment area of FIG. 8, illustrating an end of the bail attachedthereto;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged, fragmentary detail elevational view of the bailattachment area of FIG. 9, illustrating an end of the bail attachedthereto;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged fragmentary detail elevational view of the bailattachment area of FIG. 10, illustrating an end o the bail attachedthereto;

FIG. 16 is a partially diagrammatic plan view of an outer cavity moldportion of an injection mold assembly for manufacturing the basketconstruction of FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is an elevational cross section of the mold assembly of FIG. 16,taken substantially on line 17--17 thereof, illustrating the basket ofFIG. 1 in the process of being molded in place;

FIG. 17A is a greatly enlarged view of the mold assembly of FIG. 17;

FIG. 18 is a partially diagrammatic plan view of an inner core moldportion of the mold assembly which is combined with the outer cavitymold portion of FIG. 16 to form the basket of FIG. 1;

FIG. 19 is a partially diagrammatic elevational sectional view of themold assembly of FIG. 16, taken substantially on line 19--19 thereof;and

FIG. 20 is a greatly enlarged view of a detail portion of the moldassembly, similar to FIG. 17A, illustrating the mold parts of the moldassembly in the process of being separated to permit the resultingbasket to be removed therefrom.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1, 1A, 4,and 5 thereof, there is shown a plastic open frame basket construction10, which is constructed according to the present invention. The basketconstruction 10 is preferably used as a driving range basket for storingand transporting a quantity of golf balls (not shown). However, it willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art that the construction 10 canalso be used for other applications, such as garden plants and others.

The construction 10 has an open top and smoothly tapered side walls. Theconstruction 10 includes a rim member 12, and a bail or handle 16connected pivotally across the rim member 12, to serve as a carryinghandle a circular inwardly dished base or bottom wall 18 helps torigidity and strengthen the construction 10. A plurality of rectilinear,smoothly contoured longitudinal rib members, such as longitudinal ribmembers 30, 32, 34, and 36, are integrally connected between the bottomwall 18 and the rim member 12 to form a smoothly tapered body portion 40having an interior space 42.

A plurality of curved cross rib members, such as cross rib members 50,52, 54, and 56, are integrally connected between adjacent longitudinalrib members, such as longitudinal rib members 30 and 32, and 32 and 34,to form concentric circular rings, such as rings 60 and 62,respectively. Adjacent concentric rings 60 and 62 differ in size tocause the body portion 40 to be tapered. In this manner, the basketconstruction 10 is nestable as indicated in FIG. 5.

A plurality of integral, diagonal raised parting lines, such as diagonalparting lines 70 and 72, are disposed on the outer surface of thelongitudinal rib members 32 and 36, respectively, and extend betweeninner rigidifying radius webs, such as inner radius webs 80 and 82, andouter radius webs, such as outer radius webs 84 and 86. The diagonalparting lines of adjacent facing longitudinal rib members, such aslongitudinal rib members 32 and 34, and the associated inner and outerradius webs 80, 82, 84, and 86, form generally rectangular openings,such as an opening 88.

In accordance with the present invention, as will become apparenthereinafter, the diagonal parting line arrangement results from theinventive method of molding the basket 10. In this regard, only two moldparts are required, and the tapered body portion of the resulting basketconstruction 10 has a smooth, straight appearance.

As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of annular stacking ribs, such asstacking ribs 90, 92, and 94 are disposed about the inner circumferenceof bottom wall 18 in the interior space 42 to receive and support thebottom wall of a like basket. In this manner, as best seen in FIG. 5,the stacking or nesting of plastic open frame basket constructions, suchas basket construction 10 and a like basket construction 100, can beaccomplished.

Referring now to FIGS. 16, 17, 17A, 18, and 19, there is shown a mold110 for making a plastic open frame basket construction, such as basketconstruction 10, which is constructed according to the presentinvention.

The mold 110 is a two part mold and includes an outer cavity or hot moldportion 120 and an inner core or ejection mold portion 130 whichconforms to the cavity mold portion 120, wherein the core mold portion130 moves reciprocatively in and out of engagement with the cavity moldportion 120 to form the basket construction 10, indicated by brokenlines in FIG. 17, by injection molding.

As best seen in FIG. 17A, mold portions 120 and 130 have complementarydiagonally shaped mating surfaces 140 and 142, respectively, which formthe diagonal parting lines, such as parting lines 70 and 72, of thebasket construction 10. When brought into contact with each other,mating surfaces 140 and 142 form a plurality of interconnected cavities,such as annular cavities 150, and 152, and 154, to receive injectedmolten thermoplastic material therein. In this regard, cavities 150,152, and 154 form the rim member 12, and concentric rings 60 and 62,respectively.

Considering now the basket construction 10 in greater detail withreference to FIGS. 1 and 1A, the generally rectangular openings, such asopening 88, formed by the diagonal parting lines of adjacent facinglongitudinal rib members, such as longitudinal rib members 32 and 34,and the associated inner and outer radius webs 80, 82, 84, and 86, havevarying shapes, depending on the axial location of the opening. In thisregard, the opening 88 is close to the rim member 12 and issubstantially square while an opening close to the base wall 18, such asopening 96, is longer in one dimension than in the other.

As best seen in FIGS. 2, 3, 5, and 6, the inwardly dished base wall 18has an open frame construction. The base wall 18 includes a central hubmember 164 having an exterior surface 160, an outer edge portion 166,and a plurality of radiating spoke members, such as spoke members 170,172, and 174, disposed therebetween. A plurality of curved base crossmembers, such as base cross members 176 and 178, are disposed betweenadjacent spoke members 170 and 172, and spoke members 172 and 174, andare aligned to define a concentric base ring 180.

As best seen in FIGS. 1, 12, 13, 14, and 15, terminal ends 20 and 22 ofthe bail 16 are rotatably connected to the rim member 12 and held inplace by a pair of rivets 24 and 26, respectively.

Considering now the mold 110 in greater detail with reference to FIGS.17 and 19, the mold 110 is positioned with the outer cavity mold 120above the inner core mold 130, wherein the basket construction 10 isformed in an inverted position. The mold 110 includes a single sprue 180for supplying molten thermoplastic material to the mold 110, wherein themolten thermoplastic material is introduced into the cavities, such ascavities 150, 152, and 154, through a central hub cavity (not shown). Asthe cavities, including cavities 150, 152, and 154, are in fluidcommunication with one another, the molten material flows downwardlyfrom the central hub cavity until all of the cavities are completelyfilled.

For cooling purposes, the inner core mold portion 130 includes amanifold 190 in fluid communication with metallic baffles, such asbaffles 192, 194, and 196, to circulate coolant within the mold 110 forremoving heat from therewithin.

After the thermoplastic material injected into the mold 110 has cooled,the basket construction 10 is solidified and can be removed from themold 110. In this regard, inner core mold portion 130 is disengaged fromthe outer cavity mold portion 120, wherein mating surfaces 140 and 142are separated from one another. As best seen in FIG. 20, basketconstruction 10 rests on core mold portion 130 during disengagement fromcavity mold portion 120 and is supported on mating surface 142 by crossmembers, such as cross members 54 and 56 having cross sectional areas54A and 56A, respectively.

Diagonal parting lines, such as diagonal parting line 70, are exposed onthe longitudinal rib members, such as longitudinal rib member 32.

Once the inner core mold 130 has been removed a sufficient distance, thebasket construction 10 is removed from the inner core mold portion 130by any conventional means.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed, it is to be understood that various different modificationsare possible and are contemplated within the true spirit and scope ofthe appended claims. There is no intention, therefore, of limitations tothe exact abstract or disclosure herein presented.

What is claimed is:
 1. A plastic open frame basket construction,comprising:a generally circular base member having an outer edgeportion; a plurality of rectilinear longitudinal rib members connectedintegrally to said outer edge portion and extending axially away andradially outwardly from said outer edge portion to form an openframework for defining a smoothly tapered body portion; each of saidlongitudinal rib members having a pair of oppositely disposed side wallportions, wherein a plurality of pairs of facing side wall portions aredefined by adjacent longitudinal rib members; an upper rim member havinga lower edge portion connected integrally to distal end portions of saidlongitudinal rib members to define a generally circular opening forpermitting access to an interior space in said tapered body portion; aplurality of curved cross members integrally connected between saidpairs of facing side wall portions to provide lateral support to saidlongitudinal rib members for enhancing the structural strength of saidtapered body portion; each of said cross members having an exterior wallportion connected integrally along an exterior edge and an interior edgeto a complementary interior wall portion to form a solid member forincreasing the strength of said cross members, wherein said crossmembers are arranged in concentric circles to help define the taperedbody portion; wherein a plurality of outer corners are defined by theintersection of said exterior edges and said facing side wall portions,and a plurality of inner corners are defined by the intersection of saidinterior edges and said facing side wall portions; and a plurality ofraised diagonal parting lines on said side walls and extending betweensaid outer corners and said inner corners of adjacent cross members,wherein said diagonal parting lines are arranged on each side wallportion to define a stepped configuration to facilitate molding of theconstruction.
 2. A plastic open frame basket construction according toclaim 1, further comprising:an exterior cross member parting lineconnected integrally to said exterior edge and a substantially parallelinterior cross member parting line connected integrally to said interioredge extending the axial length of said cross member; and a plurality ofrigidifying strengthening radius web members integrally connected tosaid outer and inner corners to cross brace said longitudinal ribmembers and said cross members for preventing relative motiontherebetween; wherein said web members form a plurality of continuousupwardly curved transitional edges between said exterior cross memberparting lines and said diagonal parting lines, and said web members formcontinuous downwardly curved transitional edges between said interiorcross member parting lines and said diagonal parting lines.
 3. A plasticopen frame basket construction according to claim 2, wherein said basemember includes a central hub member, a plurality of spoke membersintegrally connected to said central hub member which radiate outwardlyand terminate at said outer edge portion to form a supporting structurefor said base member, and a plurality of curved base cross membersintegrally connected between adjacent spoke members to brace them forincreasing the structural strength of said base member.
 4. A plasticopen frame basket construction according to claim 3, wherein said basemember is dished inwardly toward said interior space.
 5. A plastic openframe basket construction according to claim 1, wherein said base memberis dished inwardly toward said interior space.
 6. A plastic open framebasket construction according to claim 1, wherein each of said membersis composed of a thermoplastic material.
 7. A plastic open frame basketconstruction according to claim 1, further including a bail coupledpivotally to said upper rim member for facilitating the transportationof the basket.
 8. A plastic open frame basket construction according toclaim 1, wherein said basket construction is nestable in cooperationwith a like basket construction.